Relating Seagrass Habitat to Geomorphology and Substrate Characteristics Around Ship Island, MS
Abstract
Coastal vegetation, including marsh and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), is threatened in many places across the United States and globally. Human activity, sediment starvation, and subsidence, among other factors, put these ecosystems at risk (Kirwan and Megonigal 2013; Orth et al. 2006). One type of SAV, seagrass, is of particular ecological importance, providing food and critical habitat for numerous coastal species. However, seagrass is currently in decline globally due to the aforementioned factors (Eleuterius 1987). Identifying the necessary conditions to promote seagrass recovery and growth is highlighted as one of the important yet essentially unanswered questions globally in the U.S. Geological Surveys (USGS) report on seagrass coverage in the Mississippi Sound from 19402002 (Moncreiff 2007). In sandy barrier island systems, where seagrass habitat has been related to barrier island stability and length, there is a distinct need to quantify in detail the conditions that will promote seagrass recovery and growth (Carter et al. 2011; Eleuterius 1987; Pham et al. 2014). This report introduces a new methodology for quantifying the relationship between seagrass habitat and its physical environment, including substrate and geomorphological characteristics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1074585
Entities
People
- Damarys Acevedo-mackey
- Eve R. Eisemann
- Molly Reif
- Safra Altman
Organizations
- Engineer Research and Development Center